I, Altria, only want to rule China.

Fighting and killing is so ugly.

After receiving General Bai's assurance, County Magistrate Liu was very happy, and even his expression became a little more complacent.

Just as County Magistrate Liu and the yamen runners were walking towards the bottom of the city wall, when they passed a corner where there was no one, Wang Linbao glanced at his brothers and gave them a wink.

Upon seeing this, the other yamen runners dispersed unconsciously and surrounded County Magistrate Liu.

At this moment, County Magistrate Liu was unaware of the approaching danger and was still fantasizing about returning to his mansion and making love with his concubine.

Suddenly, County Magistrate Liu felt a pain in his shoulder, as if something had bitten him. Before he could even cry out in pain, a knife was placed on his neck and a familiar voice sounded in his ears.

"Uncle Liu, don't blame us. Blame it on yourself for being too greedy."

Governor Liu was shocked. He never expected that his men would betray him at such a critical moment!

"Wang Linbao, do you know what you are doing?!" County Magistrate Liu said angrily as he looked at the weapon around his neck.

Wang Linbao chuckled and said, "Lord Liu, you don't know the destiny and want all of us to be buried with you. Isn't that a bit too much? We don't want to die with you, the county magistrate."

Chapter 36: Offering the City

County Magistrate Liu took a deep breath, looked at the others and said, "What are you talking about? We are relatives, how could I want to drag you to death? Besides, I have been very kind to you, right? Why would you do such a thing?"

The others did not answer.

"Haha, Uncle Liu, how can you say that? What do you usually ask us to do? Rape women, seize fertile land, which one is something a human would do? Even if we did it, did you reward us with anything? You didn't even treat us to a meal, and you still have the nerve to say that you treat us well? If these are

If it's a favor, we'd rather not have it!"

After Wang Linbao finished speaking, a yamen runner immediately said, "Brother Wang is right. Since you, County Magistrate Liu, don't regard us as your subordinates, why should we listen to you? Although the people outside are rebels, in our opinion, they are truly kind to the people. We don't want to follow you to do these disgusting things anymore!"

After saying this, the yamen runner did not hesitate, and immediately took out a rope and tied him up tightly in front of Liu Junshou's horrified eyes.

"Brother Wang, what do you think we should do next?" asked the other yamen runners after tying up County Magistrate Liu.

Wang Linbao did not hesitate and said to the crowd: "Now that we have done this, there is no turning back. The soldiers guarding the city are all locals. Zhang Tie, go and call the people over and ask them to help us take Governor Liu out."

As long as the people's hearts are in agreement with them, the soldiers guarding the city will not make things difficult for them. If the soldiers guarding the city are determined to oppose them, they will be in danger.

The other yamen runners responded and immediately went to do it.

County Magistrate Liu listened to Wang Linbao discussing how to surrender to the enemy, his tone was as calm as if he was discussing why the weather was so sunny today. He could not help but feel shocked and angry, and shouted: "Rebellion! You are rebelling!"

Wang Linbao laughed and stuffed a piece of rag into County Magistrate Liu's mouth. "Look at what you said, Uncle Liu. We didn't kill you, so why do you say we are rebels? Whether you live or die in the future, it's all the work of the rebels. It has nothing to do with us."

...

Liya had no idea what was happening in Linsong County. She waited outside the city for an hour and when she saw no movement on the city wall, she knew that this group of people were unwilling to surrender.

Leah sighed and her eyes became firm.

Since Linsong County is unwilling to surrender, don't blame her for taking ruthless action later.

Leah looked outside the city for a while, thinking that it would be better to launch artillery fire from there so as to minimize the damage to the residents in the city. Suddenly, she heard a noisy sound coming from the city.

Then the city gates were opened.

"Hmm? Is this surrender?"

Leah looked towards the city gate and saw a group of people coming out of the city gate. With her good vision, she could also see a middle-aged man in good clothes being tied up and brought out.

"Is there a conflict?" Leah looked at the middle-aged man. It seemed that many things happened in this hour that she didn't know about.

Just as Leah was thinking this, a man came running from the city gate, waving his hands as he ran to show that he meant no harm.

Leah had no intention of letting the soldiers intercept him, so she just waited for the man to run to her side.

"Why did you come here alone? Do you agree to the conditions I offered you before?" Leah just watched the man in the uniform of a yamen official coming up to her.

"Sir, we surrender, but County Magistrate Liu disagrees, so we tied him up. Please follow us into the city." The man who came over calmed himself down and answered Leah's question.

"So that's how it is. You did a good job. I will reward you later." Hearing this, Leah smiled.

Regardless of whether the other party was a traitor or not, at least his actions saved a lot of soldiers on her side from being sacrificed, which made it worth her rewarding him.

"Thank you, sir!" After hearing what Liya said, the yamen runner said happily.

It seems that the decision he made before was correct. This female traitor was relatively objective in her attitude towards things.

"Go into the city!" Leah said to the soldiers behind her.

Following Leah's words, a large number of cavalrymen marched into the city.

Arriving at the city gate, Leah took a look at the kidnapped county magistrate and felt a little curious. If this guy was kidnapped just because he refused to surrender, he would be a loyal man.

"Mr. County Magistrate, I wonder why they want to tie you up?" Leah asked after looking at the County Magistrate.

"Sir, I know I was wrong. Please spare my life." In response to Leah's question, the county magistrate knelt down directly.

"Hmm?" Seeing the other party suddenly change his previous attitude, Liya was a little confused. Wasn't this guy tied up by his subordinates because he swore to die and never surrender? Why is he acting like a coward now?

"Why is the county magistrate like this? I didn't do anything to you." Although Leah was confused, she continued to ask.

"I am willing to hand over all the money I have embezzled over the years, and I only ask that you spare my life!" County Magistrate Liu continued to beg.

But he knew that he could not hide all the bad things he had done, so it would be better to wait until someone reported him and then tell the truth. That way, maybe he would have a chance to survive.

"I see."

Liya asked why the county governor refused to surrender, and it turned out that he was a corrupt official!

This also made her mistakenly believe that this guy was a loyal and righteous person. After all, only those loyal and righteous people would do things that would save the city!

After learning about this guy, Liya's attitude towards him also changed. She just said lightly: "Mr. County Governor, I can't decide on your punishment. I will do whatever the people say. Take him with you."

After that, Leah ignored him and went into the city.

Facing Leah's entry, the people in the city were full of laughter and waving their hands to welcome Leah's arrival, because they knew that good days were coming for them.

Perhaps only those from aristocratic families would have a sullen face.

Facing the cheers of the people, Leah looked at everyone with a smile, and in this way Leah came all the way to the square in the city.

At Leah's command, the common people soon came up with Governor Liu, whose face was bruised and swollen. It was obvious that this guy had been severely beaten by a group of common people on the way here.

Then these people reported to Liya all the evil things done by Liu Junshou and the noble families in the city. They completely regarded Liya as their parent official and believed that Liya would make the decision for them.

Chapter 37 Aristocratic Family

Liya listened quietly, and then looked at County Magistrate Liu, who already had a dead look on his face, to see if his reaction was the same as what the people said.

After the people finished speaking, Liya hummed, then looked at County Magistrate Liu and said, "County Magistrate Liu, are they telling the truth? If not, you can make excuses. Of course, if you are just making a fuss, don't blame me for not reminding you if something happens after I find out the truth."

This time, County Magistrate Liu did not beg for mercy. Instead, he suppressed his fear and shouted, "You, you are rebelling! Quickly release me, and maybe I can speak well of you in front of His Majesty. Otherwise, when the emperor's army arrives, you will die a miserable death."

Hearing this, Liya laughed and said, "I am the one asking you questions now, not you threatening me. If you don't want to suffer, just answer honestly."

Liu Junshou was about to answer honestly, but suddenly a thought occurred to him, and he shouted, "I am paid by the emperor, so I should be loyal to him. You can kill me or chop me up, but don't even think about getting anything out of me!"

As soon as County Magistrate Liu finished speaking, before Liya could react, the people were furious and wanted to rush up and beat County Magistrate Liu up.

And Liya did not stop them. When the people had beaten them up, Liya said, "Do you think that if you learn from the civil officials and soldiers in the books and act tough enough, maybe I can let you go?"

If Liya hadn't seen the governor Liu begging for mercy at the city gate, she might have looked up to him. But you've revealed your ugly side, don't you think you'll let him go?

When Liya revealed his thoughts, County Magistrate Liu did not blush at all. Instead, he stiffened his neck and shouted, "Anyway, don't even think about getting anything out of me!"

Liya was not annoyed, and said with a smile on her face: "Since you don't want to answer, then you don't have to answer. Anyway, the people here will tell you what you did. If the people think you are innocent, I will let you go. How about it?"

After finishing speaking, Liya did not wait for County Magistrate Liu to reply, and said to the people: "You all heard what I said. I will not favor a bad person, nor will I wrongly accuse a good person. Now is the time for everyone to speak out their grievances, and I will definitely make a decision for you."

After Leah finished speaking, dozens of people came forward and told her about their grievances and explained their injustices to her one by one.

There were accusations against Magistrate Liu and anger towards the aristocratic families, and Leah heard them all.

Leah soon made a decision and asked her subordinates to call all the noble families.

There are a total of nine aristocratic families in Linsong County, some of which are good and some are bad. When they heard that Leah had sent soldiers to ask them to come over, it can be said that every family head was very frightened.

However, the fact that Leah did not bring a large army to the door was actually a signal to them.

If they weren't stupid, they would know what to do.

Not long after, the heads of these noble families arrived here. After taking one look at the miserable appearance of County Magistrate Liu, they were all terrified, fearing that they would be the next County Magistrate Liu.

When these noble families saw Leah in the middle, although they were surprised by her appearance, they did not dare to have any improper thoughts and quickly bowed to Leah.

"We are honored to meet General Long." At this moment, Leah did not have any title like General Tiangong, or call herself a king, so she could only address him in this respect.

Liya said "hmm" and then looked at the nine people and said, "You don't have to be nervous. I am actually a reasonable person. As long as you hand over the land in your hands and cancel the IOUs of those people, I will not embarrass you."

Leah thought about it and realized that although aristocratic families were a cancer, they were also an indispensable part. In essence, aristocratic families were actually equivalent to modern businessmen.

In ancient times, there were generally two types of people in aristocratic families: the playboys who liked to carry bird cages, or the top talents who were both civil and military.

The former is nothing more than a waste of a few more grains of rice, but the latter often changes the times.

In ancient times, the relationship between aristocratic families and ordinary families is like the relationship between Huawei and individual industrial and commercial households in modern times. Huawei can research Kirin chips, but individual industrial and commercial households cannot; Huawei is qualified to be hated by the United States, but individual industrial and commercial households are not.

That's the difference between the two.

Some people say that "aristocratic families hinder the upward path of common people." This view is actually very one-sided. In order to consolidate their advantages in the court, aristocratic families will constantly absorb outstanding talents from the people.

How did the imperial examination system of Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, come about? It was Yang Jian who moved the imperial examination system from the aristocratic families to the imperial court.

Aristocratic families love adventure, like achievements and are enterprising.

The "civil servants" who came from the imperial examination system were cautious and prudent. They did not seek to make achievements but only to avoid mistakes, and they became increasingly conservative.

Some people say that history is created by the people. According to Leah, when the people create important history, they must create important history through a focus of joint force. Otherwise, it will only be a pile of fragments.

Although both controlled half of the country, the Eastern Jin Dynasty was far stronger than the Southern Song Dynasty.

The Five Surnames and Seven Families dominated the Northern Wei court and greatly enhanced the military morality of the Northern Wei.

However, the small landlords prostrated themselves under the iron cavalry of the Jin Dynasty, which later eroded the martial ethics of the Jin Dynasty and weakened its power.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Eight Great Families of Guanlong formed the epoch-making "Fubing-Aristocratic System" and gradually created the powerful Sui and Tang Dynasties.

By the time of the Song Dynasty, the north south of the Great Wall had not produced a power worthy of special mention. Although they had invented gunpowder, they only knew how to cede land and pay compensation, and had no ambition to make progress. They were beaten like a stray dog, which was simply unbelievable.

It can be said that this is the qualitative difference between aristocratic families and small landlords.

In ancient times, the owners of manors, noble families, aristocrats, and clans would practice martial arts for the benefit of their families, study scriptures, pass on science and technology, preserve art, manage wealth, and even make contributions to the cause of public opinion, morality, and merit, so their enthusiasm for foreign wars was very high.

Due to the strong strength of his family business and accumulated management experience, the logistical support for the war was very high, which was beneficial to the country; it also inherited the Chinese civilization and developed the debate between Hua and Yi.

However, small and medium-sized landlords have neither the ability nor the ambition to do these things. They just want to abide by the law and protect their own little piece of land, without any enterprising spirit.

Of course, after talking about the advantages, we should also talk about the disadvantages.

As the saying goes, a dynasty lasts a hundred years, and an aristocratic family lasts a thousand years. This is exactly what it means. Aristocratic families still pose a great threat to a dynasty. After all, they control culture and knowledge.

Chapter 38 The Final Disposition of the Family

First, the disadvantage of aristocratic families is that they have a monopoly on culture. In fact, in dynasties before the Tang Dynasty, many scholars came from aristocratic families or were recommended by aristocratic families.

Then these people will naturally treat the aristocratic families better, especially since the aristocratic families hold the vast majority of positions in the court, and even the emperor will find it difficult to take action against them.

In addition to the people they promoted, many key positions in the court were actually held by aristocratic families.

The second point is the family’s land.

In fact, most of the farmland in a country is controlled by aristocratic families. After taking control of the land, the aristocratic families rent it out at low prices to farmers for cultivation and live by collecting rent.

The lowest rent was 50%, and the highest was nine stories high. This was a very scary thing for the farmers at that time.

After all, the annual harvest was reduced by 50%. Some farmers could only barely make ends meet throughout the year, and having children became a problem. In the end, the children born either starved to death or were sold to wealthy families as slaves.

The third point is that aristocratic families are corrupting the country's official system, because many official positions in the court are held by the children of aristocratic families.

However, not all of these children are outstanding. After they grow up, most of these children of power and nobility will go to work in the Ministry of War, but not as soldiers, but as generals in the military.

Moreover, when the children of aristocratic families have nothing to do, they may do many things that harm the interests of the common people, and some even sell out the country for profit.

These are the disadvantages of aristocratic families.

Since Leah is already clear about the advantages and disadvantages of the aristocratic family, the natural thing is to eliminate those disadvantages and retain their advantages.

Among them, the field is the most important.

When her strength stabilizes in the later stage, she can open a school, so that the culture will not be monopolized by the aristocratic families in the future. As for the last point, she can only use laws to restrain them.